Sandpoint Bulldozes Lake City, 29-12 Thielbahr Romps For 298 Yards, Three Tds As Bulldogs Give Coach Victory For Birthday
The Sandpoint High School football team used a bulldozer to record a textbook victory Friday night over the Lake City Timberwolves.
The Bulldogs’ 29-12 victory may have had all the color of a construction crew cutting a new road, but the person operating the bulldozer was nonetheless effective.
Running back Jeremy Thielbahr ran through, over and around the Timberwolves for nearly 300 yards and scored three touchdowns in an Inland Empire League opener at Barlow Stadium.
“They didn’t do anything fancy, but they’ve got a great running back and they come off the ball,” LC coach Van Troxel said. “If you can’t stop him it’s going to be hard to win.”
Sandpoint coach Satini Puailoa, who celebrated his 40th birthday Friday, said the game plan was simple: just hand the ball to his 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior tailback.
Thielbahr packed the ball 36 times for 298 yards. Sandpoint’s opening drive was just a taste of
what the Timberwolves would see all night. The Bulldogs marched 86 yards on 10 plays, all running attempts by Thielbahr, as the standout running back went the final 12 yards for the opening touchdown.
“Some guy who shall remain nameless wrote a little article that didn’t do Lake City any favors,” Puailoa said of a pregame prediction that had Lake City upsetting Sandpoint. “So we wanted to come out and run the ball, especially after last week when we didn’t feel we were physical all the time (against West Valley).”
Sandpoint easily won the battle in the trenches. But Thielbahr did most of his work beyond the line of scrimmage.
Still, LC responded to Sandpoint’s opening TD, marching 66 yards on its second series for a score. Brian Ross went the final 9 yards, but a two-point attempt failed.
Sandpoint took the lead for good when Thielbahr darted 9 yards to put the Bulldogs ahead 14-6 with 11:04 remaining in the first half.
LC was driving for what it hoped would be a tying TD on its next series, but a questionable clipping call thwarted the drive.
Sandpoint led 14-6 at halftime. Thielbahr had 195 yards on 26 carries in the first half.
On his first carry in the third quarter, Thielbahr broke loose for a 51-yard TD.
A safety (LC snapped the ball over its punter’s head and out of the end zone) and a 9-yard TD run by David Wood helped Sandpoint extend its lead to 29-6 with 7 minutes left in the third period.
Sandpoint raised its overall record to 4-1.
LC (0-5) suffered its 14th straight loss, one that must rank as one of the most devastating in the school’s short history.
As they approached the game, LC’s coaches believed a win Friday could not only turn the T-Wolves’ season around, but would be pivotal in the overall construction of the program. Now LC finds itself in the same position it was in going into the contest - desperate.
Sandpoint, meanwhile, took a big step toward one of the league’s three state playoff berths. If Sandpoint defeats Coeur d’Alene next week - a feat no Sandpoint team has pulled off since 1977 - the Bulldogs will secure a state playoff berth.
Lake City 6 0 6 0 - 12
Sandpoint 7 7 15 0 - 29
S-Thielbahr 12 run (Lingren kick)
LC-Ross 9 run (run failed)
S-Thielbahr 9 run (Lingren kick)
S-Thielbahr 51 run (kick failed)
S-Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
S-Wood 9 run (Lingren kick)
LC-Scharenberg 77 pass from Nelson (kick failed)
, DataTimes